A bag that gets better with age: Tern Carry-on Cover V2.0

You can only expect the best..

I bought my first carry-on cover five years ago.
The purpose of having such a cover, is to use it for bikepacking on trains and public transport.
Since then, my carry-on cover has made it across Peninsular Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.
Basically, it's a very simple contraption. 
You strap the frame and wheels together and place the cover over your folded bike.
A sling strap helps to give leverage for you to lug your bike.
This, of course, is not something that you will lug for a long distance if your bike weighs about 15kgs.

An earlier carry-on cover that mounts as a saddle bag

Courtesy, courtesy, courtesy..

Nowadays, there are a lot of multimodal commuting gurus on folding bikes offering sound advice on whether a cyclist should bag their bikes or not.
Obviously, if you can cart your bike on a roller rack while it's folded, bagging is considered a non-essential matter.
An exposed folded bicycle can be intimidating to some train passengers.
If you bag it, nobody will question it. But again, its a matter of courtesy. You get back what you give.

A neat package

Tern had redesigned the carry-on cover and the casing that comes with it actually folds up into a neat pack. 
Rather than having it strapped onto your bike's saddle, you can stash it into your messenger bag, or lash it onto your seatpost.
A pair of velcro straps helps it to be tucked away as if it's not there at all.

The carry-on cover's new case

Same functionality..

Once you've strapped-in the bike securely when folded, the cover wraps up the bike completely and you are good to go.
If you have a Tern folding bike that is roughly below 9kgs (I am talking about the X-series 20-inch bikes), the carry-on cover can be lugged for some distance before you go completely wasted on energy.
Again, its only a cover and bagging the bike is temporary.
There's little protection provided on your bike's frame and components because the cover is a really thin layer of nylon.

The sleeker-looking bag that comes with the cover

A hook and catch replaces the velcro strap

How the cover looks like in perspective

So, what goes into the carry-on cover?

This product is compatible with Tern's 20" and 24" folding bikes.
I had one for my Eclipse X20 and Eclipse S18, both were used and carried on trains and public transport.
Despite the fact that it's compact when packaged, the cover actually wraps over a 24" bike with enough material to cover the entire bike..
Even with racks and all the bells and whistle, the carry-on cover that I had actually swallowed my Eclipse S18i like a hungry python.
The carry-on cover is also pretty durable, and if you want to use it long-term, just make sure that there are no protruding sharp edges when you slip on the cover.

Price and availability...

The Tern Carry-on cover retails at USD$45 on premiumbikegear.com which is roughly about RM160.80 excluding duty, sales tax and GST.
I don't think it's available here in Malaysia as yet, but then again, I could be wrong.
You can check out the carry-on cover's specs on Tern's website

The "Chilli Api" : Tern Link N8

The competition is heating up...

What that would be a docile bicycle distributor is now cranking-up their efforts to compete with a rival and a new player from the North to dominate the beginner and intermediate-level folding bike market.
After five years of enjoying the publicity and limelight, the guys who are responsible for bringing Tern Bike into Malaysia are finally giving the customers a run for their money since the Dahon agency was taken away from them.
Otherwise, they would remain in slumber and the mistakes from the past are still haunting them till today.

The low-down..

Okay, what on Earth is the "N"-designate on a 20" Tern folding bike? 
I was told by the head-honcho over a simple lunch meeting that the N-bikes were meant for the Japan market where riders need a "smaller" frame.

A compact package: the Link N8

Pricing factor: a winner! 

The Tern Link N8 is priced below RM2K.
This makes it a highly desirable bike to own for beginners who are working on a tight budget.
What's nice, is the fact that good components are used for the bike.
Schwalbe Kojak tires are stock-standard on the Link N8 and for the city commuter, a set of SKS fenders are fitted onto the seat stay and fork assembly. This is handy if you are riding in wet areas.
Tern didn't cut any corners with the N-spec bike by giving their customers Shimano components 
You'll find a Shimano Tiagra rear derailleur and a Shimano non-series 8-speed single shifter on the bike.
What I find a bit jarring, is the crankset and the pedals. Other than that, the bike is faultless.

A versatile and compact bike: the Link N8

Set to soar

What I personally like about Tern bikes: especially the Link platform, is the fact that you can accessorize the bike for any riding levels.
Put a cargo rack on the rear, you are in business for a multi-modal commuting ride or even bikepacking trips around Peninsular Malaysia.
Based on the decent component package and a good pricing factor, I think the Link N8 will enjoy a good and captive audience here in Malaysia.

Where to buy? 

Head down to Johnny Ng's My Bicycle Shop in BU4 in Bandar Utama. Call him at 016-632 2599 for an appointment to view the bike. In the Klang Valley, Tern bikes are sold 
at Rodalink outlets in Desa Hartamas, Bangsar, Bandar Botanic and Putrajaya.

Smitten by Archery

The "early" days..

I recall being a casual laborer for some older boys back in school when it comes to setting up target buds, an easel and putting signs to warn other people that an archery practise is going on at the school field.
In the years that I was in secondary school, I managed to shoot at least five times.
This was "on the behest" of the archery club's head honchos, who in turn, were actually entertaining their peers with some choice recurve bows.
Best of all, the arrows were short of landing on the target bud and went straight into the ground.
School days was fun, but the kids were taught the wrong techniques and used outdated equipment.

"Glamping", where it all begins again.. 

Ugh! I hated the word: "Glamping". But when the shit hits the fan, that'll do.
I was tasked to run a teambuilding event, but the company has no budget and made it really difficult to get things started.
So, the other alternative was an outing with an outdoor products distributor who invited my team to attend their "Glamping" event.
And it happened.
I didn't give two fucks about sleeping in a tent with an air mattress and my role in this particular event, is to make sure that everything goes as planned.
Part of the activity set for the second-day of the event was archery.
The company's archery division had set up a short range with two sets of bows and arrows.
And while the crowd was away on their tour of the Putrajaya Wetlands where the Glamping event was held, the guy in charge of archery had allowed me to give their 10-meter outdoor range a try.

Posing at a standee at the camping ground

The tents

And it all came back.. 

The organizers supplied two sets of 30lb bows. 
It was really hard to draw, but, with a little bit of experience, releasing the arrow onto the target bud was a matter of correcting the path of the arrow's flight.
So, that said, while the others were away, I managed to shoot three rounds and found that it was not that hard to put the arrows into the target area.

Trying out the bow 

Not bad for an old man.. 

And so my journey begins.. 

I must say that I was hooked on putting the arrows on the target bud and went for a few rounds at the archery range till late in the evening.
That inspired me to do more research on getting a set of bow and arrows to learn and improve on archery.